Adventures of a farmer's daughter in Hawaii

Menu

Hooser

I’ve been called a shill already by politicians like Mike Gabbard and Russell Ruderman. Mike Gabbard is the state senator who sent me his proof of GMO dangers with the debunked Seralini link and Russell Ruderman is another state senator who owns 4 natural food stores and proudly boasts that the led the charge to ban fracking in Hawaii. Yes, we have some stellar folks in office here. Today, officially, I’ve been called a shill by none other than Gary Hooser for speaking out about biotech and farmers. The shill gambit is just another ad hominen attack at the person when you don’t have facts or evidence to support your claim. Here’s his quote on his blog and guest column on the Star Advertiser:

They hired prominent community leaders, conducted unethical “push polls”, and employ an army of industry bloggers and social media experts that attack the credibility and integrity of their opponents at every step.

Gary Hooser is so dumbfounded and blinded by his broken record statements that he can’t fathom that anyone would speak out for farmers could actually do it for free! Yes, Mr. Hooser and your fellow anti-GMO followers, I have not received a cent let alone any kind of payment to write this blog let alone pay for its existence. None. What is true is that I’m sick and tired of you and your activists doing nasty stuff towards anyone who speaks up for agriculture in Hawaii and acting as if you speak for the local people. No, you are just taking advantage of local people not speaking up, plain and simple. I find it pretty amazing that your title for today’s blog mentions bullying because you seem to have chosen the wrong word.

Let’s see what the definition of what a bullying actually is:

Who decided to enact this kind of legislation in the first place Mr. Hooser? Let’s meet the folks that have asked for this kind of laws to be made. Note some key terms in the definition of bullying: intimidation, harassment, threat, imbalance, coercion, repeated acts, mobbing, targets. **Note parental discretion due to threats of harm and foul language or gestures.**

If you read these kinds of comments, would you actually feel safe trying to testify for your cause? Common sense tells you no way. Does it look like a mob targeting people? Are there forms of intimidation in the comments? Do you actually think that real homeless people would stay there and risk their own safety against people who say and think stuff like this? I’d have to say I don’t think so. Real people know the truth of what happened and why.

He himself doesn’t like to see the disrespect, rather any criticism, on his own page also but it must be fine for his mob to do it towards others.

Hooser’s statement shows the total denial that he’s in and says a lot about the blind eye about what his mob does:

Residents supporting the Bill slept overnight on the hard and wet cement in front of the County building in order to garner a coveted seat inside the Council chambers, while the chemical companies hired the homeless and down-and-out to hold seats for their executives.

Then there is that supposedly “clueless” guy Tyler who claims to no nothing of the issue wearing a Hui O Kauai hat and taking $100 right on camera. The anti-GMO mob taped the whole thing themselves. Then there is the admission by Mr. Hooser himself that Tyler is his son’s friend. Who’s telling the truth?

The biggest discrepancy in his latest blog is this statement:

Bill 2491 does not ban pesticides nor does it ban GMO’s, it simply requires disclosure.

If that really is the case, then why are you a part of this:

Then there is yet another claim in his blog too about the meeting that the County Council was to vote on the bill. Had they outright voted on the bill as intended with the 6 members, according to the Sunshine Law, the meeting would have ended. The had polled for the vote and discovered that there would not be a quorum that set off the motion to get that 7th person in to reach quorum to finally pass the law.

And Mr. Hooser, as well as Mr. Atchitoff, if you are so determined to be aligned with these GMO Free groups, why were you eating it products that your mob members love to hate at a restaurant that isn’t GMO Free?! Did you thank a GMO farmer that day?

Of course people are going to say that Mr. Hooser was being spied upon at his dinner but the plain truth is he walked in after this person was having dinner that night. Get your facts straight. Never mind, there are no straight facts with followers of his regime.

And one last thing Gary and mob members… Are you trying to bully me for my petition to speak up for the farmers that you have disparaged and been disrespectful too? You may have the numbers but that doesn’t equal up to the hard work and knowledge that any farmer has any day. I’m standing with the farmers!

**Note if you’re an anti-GMO activist trying to post on here, I’m tired of your threats and vile comments. You can send them and I’ll repost it as a new blog. All posts found were publicly available on the social media also that were sent in by someone or captured in public forums. All comments are my own and do not reflect anyone else’s.**

Although the anti-GMO factions may be celebrating today, those who are versed in the sciences and technology know that it is a very disappointing day. Through sneaky maneuvering and dirty politics, the ignorant lawmakers strong armed their way to pass a bill doomed to fail. The only way that they could get it to pass was to break their word to vote with the 6 members and fill it with the 7th one. Call it what you want, but it just shows the lack of integrity by Hooser, Bynum, Yukimura, Furfaro, and the latest add, Chock.

The writing is on the wall when many of these leaders are associated with the GMO Free groups and anti-ag groups like Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety. If these leaders are so honestly wanting for the public to be safe, why not do this kind of legislation across the board instead of pinpointing at a single industry? If the pesticide issue is truly a real issue that you are worried about, why not cover the disclosure across the board to protect everyone? Why isn’t the county going to be a part of this disclosure since they use the most to begin with? Why aren’t all pesticide users from homeowners to pest control companies to hotels and golf courses not covered but such a law if the county is out to protect people? This law reeks of corruption and underhanded motives operating that is the very thing that these activist complain about yet openly show it front and center.

What makes this day very sad is that we have these so called community leaders, who have been oblivious or just choose to ignore the kind of environment that the agricultural industry is enduring here. These leaders “listen to the people” and ignore the evidence. Evidence and data mean nothing here in our state and hearsay and anecdotes rule. That is really a blow to the scientific method and evidence base that has been built for over 2 decades.

While there are MMA fighters, bikini clad art majors, bus drivers, social science PhD candidates, and other followers cheering today, the people who studied crop sciences, plant pathology, cell molecular biology, agronomists, plant breeders, and others with the right background to make the statements about the issue have been completely ignored today. The researchers and other scientists who are a looking at ways to solve the world’s problems and their work has been silenced by an overwhelming majority of naysayers, who have no clue about the direction of this evolving technology. Today was a win for ignorance and it isn’t going to move Hawaii anywhere other than to keep people in the dark. Apparently, that is what the politicians like Hooser, Bynum, Yukimura, Furfaro, and Chock prefer our future to be like. That is just plain old irresponsible and they don’t even know it.

The anti-GMO mob is continually stating that anyone who supports biotech should follow the money. Everyone apparently is a paid shill if they are speaking out for the overwhelming scientific evidence. (I sure wish I was paid to do this but I’m not which is hard to believe.) So today’s blog is just doing that, following the money with Gary Hooser.

Let’s take a closer look at the hot topic person of the week, Gary Hooser. Where is his money coming from? If you visit the Campaign Spending Commission link, you can do a quick search of who has donated to him as well as their personal information. Some very familiar names come up on there:

Those are just a few recognizable names that have contributed to Hooser’s campaign over the years and are publicly available. Even people who are so despised by the anti-GMO mob like John Radcliffe and Alicia Maluafiti gave money but you don’t hear any complaints from them about it! Some of those names are registered lobbyists in the state. The definition is found on the Hawaii Ethics Commission site:

“Lobbyist” means any individual who for pay or other consideration engages in lobbying in excess of five hours in any month of any reporting period described in section 97-3 or spends more than $750 lobbying during any reporting period described in section 97-3.

“Lobbying” means communicating directly or through an agent, or soliciting others to communicate, with any official in the legislative or executive branch, for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action or a ballot issue.”

The legally registered lobbyists registered with state include Jeff Mikilina, Alicia Maluafiti, and John Radcliffe. As you can see, even if you give money, the politician does not always listen to it. The latest list filed with the State Ethics commission can be found online with noted names of the seed companies listed also. Note that on Kauai, lobbyists have free range there as the county has not take any steps to regulate it despite being mandated since 1978. What does that say about the transparency issue that Hooser talks about with the seed companies but not within the county itself? Why hasn’t the county tackled this issue first before others if they care so much about the right to know?!

A group that has a strong hold and lots of playing time in the issue is Hawaii SEED. They sponsor the GMO Free groups on Kauai and Maui. Of which Hooser is a member and contributor of. Take a closer listen to Hawaii SEED’s Jeri Di Pietro talk about what they are doing with legislation here in Hawaii:

Now if these folks are trying to influence legislation, shouldn’t they be subject to the lobbyists laws like the others involved? Take a look at the tax filing that asks if they participated in lobbying activities. Their answer is no. A non-profit cannot be tax free if they are trying to influence or ask others to have an influence on legislation to be in compliance with the law. The IRS has clear rules for what lobbying is. The biotech companies have complied with the lobbying rules and why are the anti-GMO side exempt? I suspect that none of Hawaii SEEDs expenditures have been subject to the taxes that it should be paying for influencing policy and this has been going on for years. Hawaii SEED is not about educating, the video clearly provides evidence that they want to influence laws.

Let’s not forget the recent expose’ of the mainland monies being funneled into the who issue at the moment. These very wealthy activists donate money to these non-profits and get a tax write off on that and get to influence policy?! All the meanwhile the companies paying lobbyists to get some say in the legislation get taxed for the same efforts? Where’s the equality and transparency? If a non-profit is getting involved with lawmaking issues, they have to play the game fair and square. The anti-GMO mob complains about the corruption and money, but quickly hide behind bogus non-profits and skid free from the taxes that they should be paying.

I do have to question the fact that Andrew Kimbrell, Bill Freese, and Vandana Shiva have come down recently to “educate.” The fact that these people came down to provide consultations as to how to write the bill up which is influencing legislation and contacting lawmakers. That really starts to sound like lobbying to me. However, because it is all under the guise of a non-profit, it is not subject to taxes at the current moment. That needs to change!

How about the other activist groups that have been selling items likes shirts and hats? When they sell items and are using it for lobbying purposes like travel for other hearings and meeting with lawmakers, that is taxable. If you search tax ID numbers, there are none for Hawaii GMO Justice Coalition, Babes Against Biotech, or Ohana O Kauai. These groups complain about how corrupt the biotech companies are but are they really doing their fair share? I’ll have a follow up article on this soon.

Hooser is all about protecting the people and doing what is right. Is this really right that these groups are allowed to influence the issue with Bill 2491 and not playing by the rules themselves?

What I got was not a surprise considering that these activists have taken to bombarding the social media.

This person has even accused me of antagonizing her too! I can’t quite figure out how but once again paranoia sets in.

Another thread starts up too on this same link.

I do remember how she and yet another so called farmer posted some very “nice” comments on a farm fair picture on another ag FB page.

Here’s the no aloha comments posted by these same people in response to mine.

Unreal what these people are capable of saying publicly. Of course I was forwarded this clip too of how I acquired my nickname.

There is no getting through to these activists. When they have to start attacking people personally, it really shows that there is nothing in the form of evidence to support their argument. They can only resort to name calling or accusations of being a shill. This clearly demonstrates that these people are unreasonable and will only be agreeable to one single demand, their way. Working with the unreasonable will get you no where.

From the Bad Skeptic link:

“The only thing the crier o’ shill proves is that they don’t give a flying f*@k about having an actual discussion, about hearing any viewpoint but their own, or about any reality outside of the one they’re already convinced exists. Saying, “I’m right, and that’s that! Neener!” is good enough for them.”

That’s fine with me but more reason why we can’t make laws and policy according to these activists demands.